A long-term study in Colorado reveals that insect populations are plummeting even in remote, undisturbed areas. Over two decades, flying insect abundance dropped by more than 70%, closely linked to rising summer temperatures. The results suggest that climate change, not just human land use, is driving massive losses. Scientists warn that biodiversity hotspots, especially mountain ecosystems, are now at serious risk.
Read moreAmazonia is home to the greatest number of species on earth, many now threatened, but a new study hammers home Amazonia's importance, showing that it is not only a place with many species, but one where it has taken an exceptionally long time for new species to form.
Read moreFossil remains of tiny calcareous algae not only provide information about the end of the dinosaurs, but also show how the oceans recovered after the fatal asteroid impact.
Read moreA new study finds that the western South Atlantic humpback population has grown to 25,000 whales. Researchers believe this new estimate is now close to pre-whaling numbers.
Read moreSince the 1970s, insects in the warmer half of Britain have been flying, hopping and crawling northwards at an average rate of around five metres per day. However, a new study has analysed 25 million recorded sightings of 300 different insect species and found there is huge variation in the rates at which they are moving and that not all species are able to keep pace with the warming conditions.
Read moreWith freely available radar data from satellites, biodiversity in forests can be analysed very well. Researchers now report that biodiversity even of tiny insects can be reliably modeled from space.
Read moreA new study which focuses on mapping biodiversity change in marine and land ecosystems shows that loss of biodiversity is most prevalent in the tropic, with changes in marine ecosystems outpacing those on land.
Read moreScientists surveying the birdlife of Borneo have discovered a startling surprise: an undescribed species of bird, which has been named the spectacled flowerpecker. While scientists and birdwatchers have previously glimpsed the small, gray bird in lowland forests around the island, the Smithsonian team is the first to capture and study it, resulting in its formal scientific description as a new species.
Read moreResearchers have reported that a bird species' ability to adapt to seasonal temperature changes may be one factor in whether it can better withstand environmental disruption. The researchers studied 135 bird species in the Himalayas and found that species living in the seasonal western Himalayas adapted to the conversion of forests to agricultural land better than birds native to the tropical eastern Himalayas. Results such as these could help conservationists better determine where to focus their efforts.
Read moreDifferent dinosaur groups independently evolved gigantic body sizes, but they all faced the same problems of overheating and damaging their brains.
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